As Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev break up, Femail delves into the Strictly couples who lost their spark and those who are still going strong
- Kara and Artem started dating after she appeared on show in 2010
- The couple are one in a long line of Strictly failed romances
- Joe Calzaghe and Kristina Rihanoff split last year after four years together
- Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev are still going strong one year on
The Strictly Come Dancing show has gone from strength to strength since it first launched in 2004.
But unlike the show's ratings, the romances it has produced over the years have not had much luck.
These days, the programme is almost as famous for the Strictly curse as it is for the spellbinding fox trots and tangos that it produces.
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Kara and Artem started dating after the 2010 show. They join a long line of Strictly failed romances, including Joe Calzaghe and Kristina Rihanoff and Matt Di Angelo and Flavia Cacace
This week the curse has struck again, with Kara Tointon announcing that she has split from the Artem Chigvintsev - her dance partner on the show in 2010.
Kara and Artem are one of a long list of romantic casualties from BBC programme, which has been responsible for breaking numerous relationships and marriages.
Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole
The pattern started with Natasha Kaplinsky and her dance partner Brendan Cole in 2004.
The pair have always denied any kind of relationship, but they were dogged with romance rumours both during and after their time on the programme together.
The stories weren't helped when Natasha split with her long-term partner Mike Barnard soon after the show, with Brendan also splitting with his girlfriend Camilla Dallerup.
Natasha Kaplinsky and her dance partner Brendan Cole in 2004
Matt Di Angelo and Flavia Cacace
Matt Di Angelo and Flavia Cacace were partnered in the 2007 and were plagued with rumours of a romance, despite Flavia being in a relationship with fellow dancer Vincent Simone.
But the couple eventually succumbed to their emotions and started dating after Flavia dumped Vincent.
Matt later said: 'It was front page news. The funny thing was the story did not start off as true, but the more you read it, the more you started to believe it and actually act on it.
'I started to think that if I am getting all this stick, we might as well go out with each other.'
The chemistry wasn't strong enough to last though and the pair later split.
Matt Di Angelo and Flavia Cacace started dating after he appeared n the show in 2007
Flavia Cacace and Jimi Mistry:
Shortly after Matt and Flavia split, she started dating her 2010 dance partner Jimi Mistry.
Flavia and Jimi have so far managed to hold off the Strictly curse - last year the couple got married.
They tied the knot at London's St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in December.
Flavia said of Jimi: 'I'm probably the happiest I've ever been.
'We can chat forever to each other and never run out of things to say.'
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Flavia Cacace and Jimi Mistry are one of the few success stories - they got married last year
Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna:
In 2009, actress Ali Bastian was partnered with American dancer Brian Fortuna and they went on to win third place in that year's competition.
The couple started dating while still on the show and after it finished they went on to perform in a West End show called Burn The Floor together.
Sadly, the romance fizzled out away from the dance floor and they split a year later.
Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna dated for a year after meeting on the show in 2009
Joe Calzaghe and Kristina Rihanoff:
2009 was also the year that Joe Calzaghe signed up for the dance competition, where he was partnered with Kristina Rihanoff.
Joe dumped his girlfriend Jo-Emma Larvin and started dating Kristina, with the couple moving in together after just a year.
The relationship didn't last though and the couple split last year, with Kristina blaming her busy work schedule.
Joe Calzaghe and Kristina Rihanoff had a good run of it, but the couple eventually split after four years together in 2013
Ricky Whittle and Natalie Lowe:
2009 was a bumper year for celebrity-dancer relationships on Strictly, as Ricky Whittle also rumoured to have had a romance with his partner Natalie Lowe.
The chemistry was enough for Ricky to take the plunge and dump his two-year girlfriend and fellow Hollyoaks actor Carley Stenson.
Any chemistry between Natalie and Ricky was short-lived though, with Ricky most recently dating Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's daughter Rumer.
Ricky Whittle and Natalie Lowe had huge chemistry when they partnered in the 2009 show
Rachel Riley and Pasha Kovalev:
Last year, Countdown's Rachel Riley was the surprise victim of the Strictly curse after she fell for the charms of her dance partner Pasha Kovalev.
She split with her husband of 15 months and childhood sweetheart Jamie Gilbert just one month after appearing on the show.
Rachel and Pasha then started dating earlier this year and are so far still together.
Rachel Riley left her husband after performing on Strictly last year, in the summer she began dating her dance partner Pasha Kovalev
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2812582/As-Kara-Tointon-Artem-Chigvintsev-break-Femail-delves-Strictly-couples-lost-spark-going-strong.html#ixzz3HaEuBfPt
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